Sugar Cravings ...

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Any tips for curbing sugar cravings (chocolate in particular)?
Sweet stuff is my weakness - I was misdiagnosed as Diabetic at 16 and had 10 years of insulin injections and couldn't touch sweet stuff so I made up for lost time when it was found to be a misdiagnosis - more it's my biggest diet struggle.
Any advice would be helpful!

Replies

  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 549 Member
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    I have been successful with eating fruit. I discovered Fiber One brownies. All the chocolaty goodness, 90 calories & very helpful toward filling my elusive fiber macro. We happened to have Whoppers in the house. They are fairly low cal so when then chocolate monster kept knocking, I'd have 3-4. Then I made my husband take the box away. It helped
  • nancysau425
    nancysau425 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have the same problem with endless sugar cravings, this will take care of that and help with the fiber too, thanks for the tip! I also love the Dole Dippers Pineapple, feels like an frozen treat but only 80 calories
  • PintsizedPunky
    PintsizedPunky Posts: 22 Member
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    Orange Tic Tacs are my best friend.
  • ievent
    ievent Posts: 13 Member
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    I like Greek yogurt with some PB2 peanut butter, and some cocoa (or if you have the chocolate PB2 that'd work just the same)! Kind of tastes like a Reeses!
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited July 2016
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    "Give in a little" is #1 on this list.
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/13-ways-to-fight-sugar-cravings
    My favorite is Lindt Sea Salt Dark Chocolate squares.
    50 calories. Allow to melt slowly in mouth.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    That sounds absolutely awful! Apart from getting therapy for the reactions you must be having in addition to overeating sweets now (and support on the lawsuit, wow, it's hard to grasp)- find out if you CAN eat a small amount regularly, or if a small amount WILL set off a binge. If the first, make it fit into your normal eating plan. If the second, don't buy it and don't keep it lying around. Instead, eat the best food you can lay your hands on, that doesn't make you overeat.
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
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    You could try to eat less and less each day, reducing the intake by just a little. I've done weaning before myself, and nowadays most sweets are way too sweet for me.
  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
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    I've been told that sugar cravings are your body's attempt to get extra calories, suggesting you're not eating enough and your body's experiencing too much of a calorie deficit. Try either marginally larger portions at mealtime OR snacks in the morning and afternoon. In either case, don't try to cure a sugar craving with more sugar in a different form.
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
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    One thing I've done is save treats till the end of the day. Pre-log your day and put the sugar at the very end of your day. There's less time to obsess and think about having more if you’re going to bed in an hour. It also heps keep you on track all day if you know your getting a treat at the end of the day. There's nothing inherently wrong with sugar unless it causes you to binge or go over your calories. If it fits within your calories you can enjoy it guilt free.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    For a nutrition challenge, I gave up sweets for three weeks (except that fruit is okay). So I started eating apple slices or watermelon when I craved sweets. After three weeks, I have noticed the craving disappear. I really don't even want sweets at this point. I had some ice cream as a planned "treat" the other day, and I didn't enjoy it. Too sweet. That was my "go to" end of the day snack before this challenge.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    It's not surprising that you'd have that reaction from not being able to eat something and then feeling that you could go wild. I'd try a structured diet for a while with balanced meals and planned snacks and most try fruit if you want sugar between meals. But I'd also try scheduling in some kind of treat at a planned time and in a planned amount and see if you can teach yourself to be satisfied with that. I find that if I know I have have something tomorrow and the next day -- it's not some special and rare treat -- it's much easier to control the amount I eat.
  • svel713
    svel713 Posts: 141 Member
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    I quit sugar after a dental assistant accused me of having "Mt. Dew Mouth" by asking if I drank soda daily. Turns out it was my candy bar a day habit. And I was about a pound or two overweight at the time.

    It was a painful month of withdrawals. I then reintroduced sugar by allowing 5g sugar per 200 cals and maxed out at 10g/200 cals after a year or so. I now don't have sugar cravings. And a few things that I eat that match the 10g/200 cals are some Kind bars, Luna bars, some imported Asian cookies like Hello Panda Chocolate shaped cookies, and a few other things. The only thing I can think of that passes this that I eat is Halo Top ice cream, and only because I wanted to have one type of ice cream in my life. A rare diet soda is also okay.

    Be warned if you try this: Many people I knew tried what I did and failed. Only one person succeeded and that was the person I married. The reward of never having sugar cravings is amazing but its a very difficult thing to overcome.

    I do wonder if sugar cravings have to do with gut bacteria. I guess my extreme effort killed mine off. Wish I would have done it sooner!

    https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/08/116526/do-gut-bacteria-rule-our-minds
  • carriesmithbak
    carriesmithbak Posts: 3 Member
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    I parent myself like I do my children- I have to have something healthy and an ton of water before I give in to a treat. I've noticed that when I'm longing for a snack or sweet, I'm actually just hungry. When I mix up a quick healthy smoothie and follow it with water, I almost always move on without getting the treat. And when that doesn't work and I still want something, I make it an event- ice cream cone from the ice cream store, a chocolate covered strawberry from Edible Arrangements. This way, if I have to log the food, at least it will be worth it and I'll have to pay too much to have seconds :) It also helps me remember that these types of foods are supposed to be once in a while foods, so I don't need to keep them at my house.